Website Design: Search Marketing Best Practices: Steve Krull

Website (Re)DesignContent marketing best practices

Agenda

o Why content is (still) King - Panda's Penguins and Penalties

o Aligning navigation with user intent, and using research to influence what you think

o Designing with content in mind-If you build it, will they come?

o Extras

www.BeFoundOnline.com

Content Is (still) King!

• Why Should You Care? • 82% of B2B marketers now employ content marketing as

a strategy in their marketing programs. Source: HiveFire 2012 study


Make Content Part of Online Strategy B2B marketers know their customers and prospects are online, which is why they're focusing their marketing efforts on the Internet.

How Content Marketing Benefits B2B Marketers:• Engages prospects• Increases brand credibility &

thought leadership• Generates qualified leads & sales• Relatively low marketing cost


Components of Content Marketing

Content Creation Content Management

Blogger Outreach

This includes writing blogs, resource articles, infographics, landing pages, etc.

Content that is either created by the client or by 3rd party and is optimized and posted on the clients’ blog or web pages.

Finding influential bloggers and creating a list of potential bloggers.


Pandas, Penguins, and Penalties

• Google Panda (2011) - filter “low quality content”

• Google Penguin (2012) - discourage / punish spam

• Reasons for Penalties • Over Optimization• Bad or Suspicious Links• Virus & Malware• Lack of user experience• Duplicate/copied content• High Bounce Rate

• PSST, don’t forget to talk about Authorship!! www.BeFoundOnline.com

What’s next…


User Intention – What is it they seek?

Research what your buyers want. You Are Not The Target.

Consider what questions your prospects ask during the sales process

Use Google analytics to uncover what makes users land on a page (& then blow it up!)• what keywords are they using• what are people entering in your site search box.

“blending solutions for plastic packaging”“remote IO installations”“stereo 3D camera”


http://screencast.com/t/u8bh3vapZn

Build Content For Maximum Effect

Design your website with content in mind

Develop & Optimize Content• Develop your own content• Obtain content from credible

sources • LinkedIn Posts• White papers• Guest Bloggers/Blogging• Webinars/How-to Videos

To reach as many people as you can, you need to serve your content up in different ways.


Challenges B2B Marketers Face


64% of B2B marketers say that producing enough content was their #1 challenge.

43% of B2B marketers are developing both in-house and outsourced content.

• Outsourcing vs. Hiring• Ongoing process• How much is enough?

Source: Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs Study of 1,416 B2B marketers in North America

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/10/2013-b2b-content-marketing-research/

Integration Matters, Especially in B2B

Align navigation with content goals

Integrate Content• Use flexible CMS to tie content to a

product/category• Consider page lay out with case studies• Integrate content using best practices• Ability to share content directly to social

media channels

Best Practices for Article Optimization

If you really want to convert visitors and nurture your audience, you must build trust with them www.BeFoundOnline.com

If You Build It, Will They Come?

Reach your target market

Path To Your Prospects• Multiple touchpoints• Social elements• 3rd Party Engagement

Results• Higher page rank• Leads & conversions!

How an optimized article can find its way to your target audience.


Remember These Three Things

Content Marketing is a Popularity Contest• The more credible “friends” you have, the higher you’ll be ranked

Your Competition is Focusing Efforts on Content Marketing• What is your strategy for 2013?

Make Sure Content Strategy is Part of Your Website (re)design• Integrate content alongside your products. Add videos, blog posts,

articles – they don’t have to be yours, just make sure you cite the source


https://plus.google.com/101122111953077592472/about?hl=en

Gratuitous Site Launch Guidelines

Rule Numero Uno – Redirect 80% of your Organic Traffic• If Google can’t find the new pages, they can’t send traffic

Robots.txt is your friend!• Use to keep search spiders from finding unwanted

content• Also comes in convenient Meta tag form

Keep your content close!• Never move products extra clicks away• Shorten the distance between the Top and Products if

you can• Avoid assigning products to multiple categories if

possible

Manage your Meta • Page Titles are still a very important tag for Google

(others too, but I’m out of space…)

Random Thinkages• Don’t outsmart

Google• Crawl the site yourself

(Visual Web Spider, Screaming Frog, Xenu)

• Watch indexation & use Webmaster tools

• Check “site search” behavior immediately after launch

• Analytics is not just a friend, it’s your best friend


https://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.csemag.com&aq=f&oq=site:www.csemag.com&aqs=chrome.0.57j58.823&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Gratuitous Upper Management SlideIt’s not an Expense, it’s an Investment

• Websites cost money – Online Marketing prints it

Aim for Efficiency• New platforms need to do more than be a pretty

site – it has to make life easier in several ways

Make the Kool-Aid, don’t drink it• Remember, they are marketing to you, same as you

are them…look under the hood, talk to users, check out user groups (get your nerd on)

Objectivity pays the rent• Pet platforms are great and so are pet developers,

but pick the one that’s truly right for the job

Random Thinkages• There’s often no cure for

“El Jefe’s” pet platform!• Support your decisions

with metrics: Conversion Rate, Bounce Rate and Lifetime/Average Value

• Save yourself from an ROI calculation if you can

• Analytics is not just a friend, it’s your best

friend


Be InspiredBe PassionateBe Creati ve Be Amazing

Why BFO?◦ Search tailored to your business

goals◦ Success across many platforms◦ We solve technical SEO problems

every day◦ We do more than SEO◦ We love helping clients make

money


Steve Krull◦ [email protected]◦ 877.553.6863 (call the office)◦ 773.904.1182 (or hit me directly!)◦ http://www.linkedin.com/in/

stevekrull/

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Website Design: Search Marketing Best Practices: Steve Krull